1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to image sensing apparatuses, and more specifically, to an auto white balance circuit for use in an image sensing apparatus such as a video camera.
2. Description of the Background Art
When one desires to obtain two image frames at a time using a conventional video camera, one possible method is to select the outputs of two independent video cameras 15, 16 as shown in FIG. 7 and to record them by a VTR 18.
According to such a method, however, though white balance is stable with the video cameras being independent, a large system will be necessary to accommodate the two video cameras, which is disadvantageous in terms of cost or portability. Constructing a video camera to have two image sensing portions, one signal processing portion, and a switch portion for switching between the image sensing portions as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2-143683 provides a less costly image sensing apparatus. However in this case, when the image sensing portions are switched from one to the other, or when an image obtained from one image sensing portion is entered into a part of an image obtained from the image sensing portion by switching the switch at a high speed a number of times, white balance is gradually disordered, resulting in difficulty in viewing of a reproduced image.